Olympus XZ-2 iHS vs Sony RX100 VII

The following is a complete analysis of the Olympus XZ-2 iHS versus Sony RX100 VII, former is a Small Sensor Compact while the latter is a Large Sensor Compact by rivals Olympus and Sony. There exists a sizable gap between the image resolutions of the XZ-2 iHS (12MP) and RX100 VII (20MP) and the XZ-2 iHS (1/1.7") and RX100 VII (1") boast different sensor sizes.

Photography Glossary

The XZ-2 iHS was unveiled 7 years prior to the RX100 VII which is quite a significant difference as far as technology is concerned. Both the cameras feature different body design with the Olympus XZ-2 iHS being a Compact camera and the Sony RX100 VII being a Large Sensor Compact camera.

Before going into a step-by-step comparison, here is a concise view of how the XZ-2 iHS scores vs the RX100 VII when it comes to portability, imaging, features and an overall mark.

Here is a preview of the gallery images for Olympus XZ-2 iHS & Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 VII. The full galleries are viewable at Olympus XZ-2 iHS Gallery & Sony RX100 VII Gallery.

For those who are intending to travel with your camera frequently, you'll need to think about its weight and dimensions. The Olympus XZ-2 iHS features outside dimensions of 113mm x 65mm x 48mm (4.4" x 2.6" x 1.9") along with a weight of 346 grams (0.76 lbs) and the Sony RX100 VII has dimensions of 102mm x 58mm x 43mm (4.0" x 2.3" x 1.7") accompanied by a weight of 302 grams (0.67 lbs).

Compare the Olympus XZ-2 iHS versus Sony RX100 VII in our newest Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Take into consideration, the weight of an ILC will differ depending on the lens you select at the time. The following is a front view sizing comparison of the XZ-2 iHS and the RX100 VII.

Looking at dimensions and weight, the portability grade of the XZ-2 iHS and RX100 VII is 85 and 88 respectively.

More often than not, it is very hard to picture the contrast between sensor dimensions only by going over specifications. The pic below will help offer you a greater sense of the sensor dimensions in the XZ-2 iHS and RX100 VII.

To sum up, both the cameras feature different resolutions and different sensor dimensions. The XZ-2 iHS using its tinier sensor is going to make achieving shallow depth of field harder and the Sony RX100 VII will offer you extra detail having an extra 8 Megapixels. Higher resolution will enable you to crop photographs way more aggressively. The more aged XZ-2 iHS is going to be disadvantaged with regard to sensor tech.